Door lock safety release means

ABSTRACT

Retainer means is disposed at the outer face of a door for holding door fastening means against rotation and maintaining the door locked in closed position. Safety means carried by the door is releasably engageable with the retainer means for normally securing the latter to the door. The safety means is manually operable at the inner face of the door for releasing the retainer means from the door whereby to unlock the door fastening means so that the door may be opened from the inside.

White 11 3,871,694 [4 1 Mar. 18,1975

1 DOOR LOCK SAFETY RELEASE MEANS [75] Inventor: Clarence E. White,Kenosha, Wis.

[73] Assignee: White Welding & Mfg. Inc.,

Kenosha, Wis.

[22] Filed: Feb. 1, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 328,859

[52] US. Cl 293/92, 292/218, 292/340 [51] Int. Cl. "1805c 1/04 [58]Field of Search 292/92, 93, 218, 285, 286, 292/251, DIG. 32, DIG. 53,DIG. 65, DIG.

69, DIG. 71; 70/92, 441, 465; 151/69; 240/1 EL; 116/114 R, 129 L [56]References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 710,896 10/1902 Samson 292/2512,461,426 2/1949 King 292/DIG. 65 2,636,767 4/1953 Groeger 1 292/DIG. 652,784,022 3/1957 North et a1. 292/DIG. 65

2,823,940 2/1958 Squire 292/92 3,120,032 2/1964 Burnette 292/DIG. 653,212,805 10/1965 Olander 292/218 3,346,286 10/1967 Wescott 151/62 XPrimary ExaminerRichard'E. Moore Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Johnson,Dienner, Emrich & Wagner 57 ABSTRACT Retainer means is disposed at theouter face of a door for holding door fastening means against rotationand maintaining the door locked in closed position. Safety means carriedby the door is releasably engageable with the retainer means fornormally securing the latter to the door. The safety means i s manuallyoperable at the inner face of the door for releasing the retainer meansfrom the door whereby to unlock the door fastening means so that thedoor may be opened from the inside.

8 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTED MAR 1 81975 a &

. l DOORLOCK SAFETY RELEASE MEANS FIELD OF THE INVENTION The presentinvention relates generally to door fastening means for locking inclosed position the doors of containers, transport vehicles, and thelike, and more particularly to door lock safety release means operablefrom the inside of a locked door.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Large cargo containers, transport vehicles, orhighway trailers having enclosed bodies are provided with a door frameand one or two doors which are adapted to be swung within the plane ofthe door frame for closing the latter. Frequently, there is provideddoor fastening means which may be actuated to locked position from theoutside of the enclosed body to retain the door or doors within the doorframe, and such fastening means is usually designed so that it will notaccidentally become unlocked when outward forces are imposed on thedoors, for example, as a result of shifting loads within the trailerbody. Similar door fastening means are sometimes associated with thedoor or doors of safety enclosures used for enclosing electrical switchgear, valve boxes, animal cages, and the like. Door fastening means ofthe type indicated presents one serious hazard: a person accidentallylocked within the enclosure cannot open the doors.

One general type of door fastening means for locking a door in closedposition includes a revolvable element at the outer face of the door,and retainer means at the outer face of the door for holding therevolvable element against rotation and thus maintaining the door lockedin closed position. The present invention is directed to the provisionof safety means which is carried by the door for releasably engaging theretainer means and'normally securing the latter to the door, and whichis manually operable at the inner face of the door for releasing theretainer means from the door whereby to unlock the door fastening means.Such safety means allows a person, who is locked within the enclosure,to open the door from the inside.

The present invention is also concerned with the provision of lighttransmitting means in a door adjacent door lock safety release means fortransmitting light from the outer face of the door interiorly of thedoor FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a pair of doors and 1 doorfastening means with which the safety release means and the lighttransmitting means of the present invention are incorporated;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevational view of the lower portion of thedoor fastening means of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the safety release means of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is an end elevational view of the safety release means of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view, taken substantially along the line55 in FIG. 4, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary elevational view showing the door fasteningmeans of FIG. I in released position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED 1 EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. 1, thereis shown a portion of a vertical wall of a conventional enclosed body 8,for example, of a cargo containeror transport vehicle. The enclosed body8 is provided with a door frame 10 comprised of horizontal upper andlower structural elements l2 and 14 and vertical side structuralelements 16 and 18. Disposed within the door frame 10 for closing thesame are a pair of doors 20 and 22 which are. respectively, pivotallymounted along their vertical edges to the side door frame elements 16and 18 by means of hinges 24 and 26. To provide a suitable seal inclosure, resilient strip material 28 is secured about the edges of thedoors 20 and 22, with the strip material along the vertical free edge ofthe door 22 being arranged to overlap the vertical free edge of the door20.

Door fastening means or latching mechanism, which is adapted to securethe doors 20 and 22 within the door frame 10, comprises a pair of keepermembers 30 mounted to the upper and lower door frame elements 12 and 14.Each keeper member 30, as shown in FIG. 2, has laterally spacedforwardly extending projections 32 and 34. The projection 32 has alateral opening 36 therein. The projection 34 has a recess 38 thereinwith an open forward end and with upper and lower inner surfaces 40 and42 tapering toward each other in a rearward direction.

Arranged for operative association with the keeper members 30, as shownin FIG. I, is a vertically extending shaft 44 rotatably journaled inbracket members 46 and 48 suitably secured to the outer face of the door22. Means for rotating the shaft 44 is provided in the form of arevolvable element or hand lever 50 pivotally mounted to a bracket 51secured to the shaft 44. The hand lever 50 is normally retained, asshown in FIG. 1, in a conventional seal assembly or retainer means 52which will be discussed more fully hereinafter.

Secured at the lower and upper ends, respectively, of the shaft 44 areshaft extensions or carrier members 54 and 54'. As shown in FIG. 2, the:shaft extension 54 is formed with first and second arm portions 56 and58 adapted to be received, respectively, in the lateral opening 36 andin the recess 38 of the lower keeper member 30. The upper shaftextension or carrier member 54' is formed with arm portions 56' and 58which are identical to the aforedescribed arm portions 56 and 58respectively.

The elements of the described door fastening means are shown in a lockedor closed position in FIG. 1. To unlock the door fastening means in aconventional manner, the hand lever 50 is released from the seal assembly 52 and swung in a horizontal plane toward a forwardly extendingposition so that the shaft 44 and shaft extensions 54-54 are caused torotate on their common axis. As the shaft extensions 54-54 are thusrotated, the arm portions 58-58 are removed outwardly of the recesses 38in the keeper members 30 and the arm portions 56-56 are withdrawn fromthe openings 36. Thereafter, the doors 20 and 22 may be swung outwardlyof the plane of the door frame 10 to an open position. In closing thedoor frame It), the doors 20 and 22 are swung to a position generally inthe plane of the frame 10. The hand lever 50 is then pivoted from aforwardly extending position toward the position shown in FIG. 1whereupon the shaft 44 is rotated for causing the arm portions 56-56' toenter the lateral openings 36 in the keeper members 30 and for causingthe arm portions 58-58 to be engaged in the recesses 38. After the armportions 5656 and 5858 have been disposed in full locking engagementwith the keeper members 30, the hand lever 50 is secured within the sealassembly 52. For further details concerning the construction andoperation of the door fastening or lock means described above, referencemay be had to United States letters Patent 3,212,805, issued on Oct. 19,1965 to Roland .l. Olander.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, there will be described the door locksafety release means of the present invention. The door 22, in which thesafety release means is mounted, comprises an outer panel 60 and aninner panel 62. The retainer means 52, with which the safety releasemeans is cooperatively related, comprises a base member 64 normallyabutting the outer face of the door panel 60, a pair of fasteners 66with the inner ends being received in bores 68 formed in the door panel60, and an axial hub 70 extending through an aperture 72 in the doorpanel 60 and projecting into the door 22. The hub 70 is interiorlythreaded as at 74.

The safety means, which is associated with the retainer means 52,comprises a rotatable release handle 76 which includes an axial shank 78and a transverse hand grip 80. The outer end portion of the handle shank78 is exteriorly threaded as at 82, and the threaded portion 82 normallyhas threaded engagement with the threaded hub 70. The mounting means forthe rotatable release handle 76 comprises a plate member 84 which issuitably secured to the door panel 62, and which is formed with acentral depressed portion 86. The handle shank 78 is rotatably supportedin the depressed portion 86, and adjacent the rotatable support isformed with an annular groove 88. A strap member 90 is suitably securedto the depressed portion 86 of the plate member 84, and is formed with aside slot 92 which is engaged in the annular groove 88 of the handleshank 78. The strap member 90 and the annular groove 88 serve assecuring means for preventing axial movement ofthe release handle 76while accommodating rotation thereof. In assembled relation, the centraldepressed portion 86 ofthe plate member 84'serves to locate the handgrip 80 in a recessed position. The described safety means releasablyengages the retainer means 52, normally secures the latter to the door22, and is manually operable to release the retainer means 52 from thedoor 22 in a manner to be described more fully hereinafter.

As best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, light transmitting means, indicatedgenerally by the reference numeral 94, is provided in the door 22transversely thereof adjacent the safety means for transmitting lightfrom the outer faceof the door 22 interiorly of the latter to illuminatethe safety means. The light transmitting means 94 comprises acylindrical light transmitting plastic rod 96. The inner end of theplastic rod 96 is threaded into a retaining member or nut 98 suitablysecured to the depressed portion 86 of the plate member 84, and theinner end face of the rod 96 is exposed interiorly of the door 22through an aperture 100 in the depressed portion 86. The outer end ofthe plastic rod 96 extends through an aperture 102 formed in the doorpanel 60 and has threaded thereon a retaining member or collar 104, withthe outer end face of the bar 96 being exposed at the outer face of thedoor 22. A suitable resilient O-ring 106 is provided between theretaining member 104 and the door panel 60. Light at the outer face ofthe door 22 is transmitted by the rod 96 through the door to illuminatethe hand grip when the door is in closed position. Preferably, theaperture is formed in the shape of an arrow to indicate the direction inwhich the hand grip 80 should be rotated to operate the safely releasemeans.

Surrounding the shank 78 of the release handle 76, as shown in FIG. 3,is a sleeve member 108 having an outer flared end 110. The inner end ofthe sleeve member 108 is suitably secured to the depressed portion 86 ofthe plate member 84, while the outer flared end 110 pro ects into theaperture 72 formed in the door panel 60. During assembly of the door 22,and after the safety release means has been mounted in position,conventional foamed-in-place insulation 22 is introduced intermediate ofthe door panels 60 and 62. As will be appreciated, the sleeve member 108serves to shield the hub 70 and the handle shank 78 from the insulation112 and other foreign material.

The described safety release means of the present invention allows aperson, who is locked within the enclosed body 8, to open the door 22from the inside. By grasping the hand grip 80 and turning the releasehandle 76 counterclockwise, as viewed in FIG. 4, the threaded shank 78serves to thread and force the hub 70 axially outwardly. The retainingmeans 52 is thereby pushed outwardly and away from the door 22 towardthe position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 3, and ultimately falls awayfrom its normal mounted position as the hand lever 50 swings downwardlyto the position shown in FIG. 6 when the hub 70 is disengaged from theshank 78. The outward movement of the retaining means 52 effectsunlocking rotation of the hand lever 50 and the shaft 44 which causesdisengagement of the shaft arm portions 5656 and 58-58 from the keepermembers 30. After the latching mechanism has been released, the unlockeddoor 22 may be pushed open from the inside. The light transmitting means94 directs enough light interiorly of the door 22 to identify thepresence of the safety release means, to illuminate the arrow 100, andto illuminate the hand grip 80 during manual operation. With the door 22in an open position, the retainer means 52 may be returned to its normalmounted position by turning the release handle 76 clockwise, as viewedin FIG. 4, and threading the shank 78 back into the hub 70.

While there has been shown and described a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat various rearrangements and modifications may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The invention claimed is:

1. For use with an enclosed body having a door frame with upper andlower elements, a door having inner and outer faces and being movableinto and out of the door frame between open and closed positions, keepermeans mounted on the upper and lower elements of the door frame, avertically extending shaft rotatably mounted on the outer face of thedoor and having radially extending arm portions at the upper and lowerends thereof which are engageable with the keeper means for locking thedoor in closed position, and a revolvable element connected to the shaftfor effecting rotation thereof, the combination of: retainer means atthe outer face of the door'for holding the-revolvable element againstrotation and thus maintaining the shaft arm portions engaged with thekeeper means and the door locked in closed position; said retainer meanscomprising a base member normally abutting the outer face of the door,and an axial threaded hub projecting into the door; safety means carriedby the door for releasably engaging said retainer means andnormally'securing the latter to the door; said safety means comprising arotatable release handle having an axial shank with a threaded portionnormally in threaded engagement with said threaded hub, and having ahand grip at the inner face of the door; securing means for preventingaxial movement of said release handle in either direction whileacommodating rotation thereof; and said release handle being manuallyrotatable at the inner face of the door for threading said threaded hubout? wardly of the door and therebypushing said retainer means outwardlyand away from the door whereby to effect unlocking rotation of therevolvable element and the shaft causing disengagement of the shaftarmportions from the keeper means so that the door may be opened fromthe inside of the enclosed body.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said safety means includes a platemember secured to the inner face of the door, and said shank of saidrelease handle is rotatably supported in said plate member.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said securing means is comprisedof an annular groove formed in said shank of said release handle, and astrap member secured to said plate member and having a side slot engagedin said annular groove.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said plate member has a centraldepressed portion for locating said hand grip of said release handle ina recessed position.

5. The combination of claim 4 including a sleeve member secured at itsinner end to said plate member and surrounding said shank of saidrelease handle whereby to shield said shank from foreign material.

6. The combination of claim 4 including light transmitting means in thedoor adjacent said safety means for transmitting light from the outerface of the door interiorly of the door to illuminate said safety means.

7. The combination of claim 6 wherein said light transmitting meanscomprises a light transmitting plastic rod having one end face exposedat the outer face of the door and the other end face exposed at saidcentral depressed portion of said plate member.

8. The combination of claim 7 including a retaining member carried bythe door for receiving the inner end of said plastic rod, and a collarmember on the outer end of said plastic rod for securing said outer endat the outer face of the door.

1. For use with an enclosed body having a door frame with upper andlower elements, a door having inner and outer faces and being movableinto and out of the door frame between open and closed positions, keepermeans mounted on the upper and lower elements of the door frame, avertically extending shaft rotatably mounted on the outer face of thedoor and having radially extending arm portions at the upper and lowerends thereof which are engageable with the keeper means for locking thedoor in closed position, and a revolvable element connected to the shaftfor effecting rotation thereof, the combination of: retainer means atthe outer face of the door for holding the revolvable element againstrotation and thus maintaining the shaft arm portions engaged with thekeeper means and the door locked in closed position; said retainer meanscomprising a base member normally abutting the outer face of the door,and an axial threaded hub projecting into the door; safety means carriedby the door for releasably engaging said retainer means and normallysecuring the latter to the door; said safety means comprising arotatable release handle having an axial shank with a threaded portionnormally in threaded engagement with said threaded hub, and having ahand grip at the inner face of the door; securing means for preventingaxial movement of said release handle in either direction whileacommodating rotation thereof; and said release handle being manuallyrotatable at the inner face of the door for threading said threaded huboutwardly of the door and thereby pushing said retainer means outwardlyand away from the door whereby to effect unlocking rotation of therevolvable element and the shaft causing disengagement of the shaft armportions from the keeper means so that the door may be opened from theinside of the enclosed body.
 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein saidsafety means includes a plate member secured to the inner face of thedoor, and said shank of said release handle is rotatably supported insaid plate member.
 3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said securingmeans is comprised of an annular groove formed in said shank of saidrelease handle, and a strap member secured to said plate member andhaving a side slot engaged in said annular groove.
 4. The combination ofclaim 3 wherein said plate member has a central depressed portion forlocating said hand grip of said release handle in a recessed position.5. The combination of claim 4 including a sleeve member secured at itsinner end to said plate member and surrounding said shank of saidrelease handle whereby to shield said shank from foreign material. 6.The combination of claim 4 including light transmitting means in thedoor adjacent said safety means for transmitting light from the outerface of the door interiorly of the door to illuminate said safety means.7. The combination of claim 6 wherein said light transmitting meanscomprises a light transmitting plastic rod having one end face exposedat the outer face of the door and the other end face exposed at saidcentral depressed portion of said plate member.
 8. The combination ofclaim 7 including a retaining member carried by the door for receivingthe inner end of said plastic rod, and a collar member on the outer endof said plastic rod for securing said outer end at the outer face of thedoor.